And probably racism too

I don't know in particular what it was about the calls today but around late morning I got cranky and it never really went away. I would come back from break in a better frame of mind and the next call would be over the top irrational. Examples:

• As of November 1st the hospital accounts were taken away from us and centralized in the Denver call center. We don't even have the program to look at the accounts. A man just would not let it go as I was trying to tell him this and he's getting mad at me for not helping him and wanting to talk to "management". It's like going to Taco Bell and ordering a Big Mac, it just can't happen as much as you would like to give good customer service.
• I had a lady go on and on about her situation and it turns out her issue was what she felt was a coding/insurance coverage problem for her physical therapy dates of service, one which I could not help with as a collector, but was explaining to her that, so she asked then why were we calling her. I stated a call probably went out regarding a balance of $50 on an earlier date of service, but she said no she wanted to discuss the coding issue with someone, as I was explaining to her that I was going to transfer her to the department who could help her get resolution about that, she spluttered frustration and hung up on me. I was that close to getting her to an answer and she hangs up.
• And then you have the 23 year old girl who said we needed to call her mom regarding her remaining balance because she pays everything.
• Or the angry 18-year-old boy who was irritated that he had call us to give permission to speak with his mom regarding his account. I was explaining about the federal HIPAA laws and being legally an adult when he said if he wasn't such a busy student he would march into the hospital management to complain and rung off. Glad to go home at the end of the day.

So this evening I watched some Say Yes to the Dress and read some blogs. My eyes are really tired, hot and itchy so I'm going to finish up and give them a rest.

I finished DEADLY ENGAGEMENT by Lucinda Brant. I'm not sure what to read next over the weekend but probably a nonfiction book. I haven't read the paper yet tonight. Oy, my eyes.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster